marbel Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 My daughter, the new vegetarian, is having a friend over at dinnertime tonight, and after discussing their various likes, dislikes, etc., we came up with a plan: a simple baked pasta - pasta, sauce, mozzarella cheese. I can figure out how to cook this though I could use some help with proportions. I can't find any recipes that are straightforward enough. And most either just say "one package of pasta" or "one jar of sauce" which I assume is a 1-pound box of pasta and a standard 24-ounce jar of sauce, but they are not explicit. I am a pretty decent cook and can't believe I'm having so much trouble with such a simple thing. Usually I make my own sauce but I haven't the time or inclination today so am relying on a jar. Any simple recipe or formula for this? (Preemptive comment: can't use ricotta cheese. Most recipes call for it, but I can't use it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I think this is one of those things that is really subjective. I like lots of ricotta in my baked ziti (or whatever), but I've had it a million different ways and it's always yummy. It's like pizza in that way :lol: I would use a pound of pasta and a pound of mozzarella, and a regular sized (not a family/economy sized) jar of whatever sauce you like. The sauce absorbs into the pasta anyway, and you can always provide a bowl of parmesan or romano cheese for people to sprinkle on if they want more cheesy flavor. It will be good no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 This is a baked ravioli recipe that we love. It is very simple and sounds like what you need. You could use a mushroom ravioli so that it is vegetarian without ricotta. http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/07/baked-ravioli/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I think your proportions are about right (a 16 oz box of dry pasta + a 24 oz jar of sauce). You want to make sure the pasta will be fully coated w/ sauce before heating it in the oven. You can put the dry pasta in a baking dish, pour over the jar of sauce, put a little bit of water (about 1/5 to 1/6 of the jar's size) into the sauce jar (put lid on & shake to get extra sauce w/ the water), then add that too. Put foil over the dish & bake. Check after about 15 minutes & stir to make sure the pasta is absorbing the liquid & is not drying out. Add anything extra you want to at that point (spinach, kale, mushrooms, etc...), stir, then put foil back on & bake for another 10 to 15 minutes. Or, you can cook the pasta on the stove. Drain. Mix w/ the pasta sauce & either put into a baking dish or individual-sized baking dishes, sprinkle cheese on top & put in the oven for about 10 minutes to heat the sauce thoroughly &/or melt any cheese on top. If you're really just melting the cheese (& your sauce is already warm), you can just stick it under the broiler for a minute or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I really like this recipe from America's Test Kitchen for baked ziti that you start on the stovetop. It's easy, the ingredients are clear, no need for crummy jarred sauce, and it's really good. Btw, if you want to lighten it, I've used light cream or even just milk for the heavy cream (in fact, I usually do) and it's always good. It's a pretty generous recipe. http://www.food.com/recipe/americas-test-kitchen-skillet-baked-ziti-314560 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks all. I ended up basing my recipe off the baked ravioli linked above. But I didn't have ravioli, and what I used (rotini) did not substitute well. I think there was too much surface area to the rotini (compared to ravioli) so the dish was very dry. We didn't like the jarred sauce I chose either! :-/ Next time I'll use ravioli, or try the one from America's test kitchen. I think also most of my family does not like pasta that much. LOL. I have a lot leftover and not sure what to do with it! Thanks though! We did get fed last night, and that's what's important! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks all. I ended up basing my recipe off the baked ravioli linked above. But I didn't have ravioli, and what I used (rotini) did not substitute well. I think there was too much surface area to the rotini (compared to ravioli) so the dish was very dry. We didn't like the jarred sauce I chose either! :-/ Next time I'll use ravioli, or try the one from America's test kitchen. I think also most of my family does not like pasta that much. LOL. I have a lot leftover and not sure what to do with it! Thanks though! We did get fed last night, and that's what's important! :-) Bummer! Sorry it didn't go well. I hope she has better luck finding recipes she'll like from here on out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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